Trial Magazine

Shirley Jones, 78, and Kristine Trudeau, 66, were passengers in a car operated by Shirley’s husband, John Jones, on a dark, two-lane roadway. John Jones rear-ended a skid steer loader driven by a Stark Equipment Co. employee, causing all three occupants to suffer fatal injuries. Shirley Jones is survived by her four adult children, and Trudeau is survived by her husband and one adult child.

Shirley Jones’s and Trudeau’s estates sued John Jones’s estate, alleging improper lookout. The plaintiffs also sued Stark Equipment, alleging it and the skid steer loader’s driver wrongfully operated the loader on a roadway without a “slow-moving vehicle” emblem and a flashing amber signal visible from the rear. Suit did not claim lost income.

The parties settled for $4.05 million. Jones’s insurer paid $100,000, and Stark Equipment’s insurers paid the rest.

Citation: Jones v. Stark Eng’g Co., No. 20 L 30 (Ill. Cir. Ct. McLean Cty. Jan. 4, 2021).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Bruce R. Pfaff, Chicago.